Sir, as a long-time reader of The Economist (at least since 1982), I have the greatest respect for you and your fine Newspaper.

However, as an American, it would seem strange to me for a State such as, say, New York, to be in the American Union and yet have a separate currency. That is how I inevitably view the European Union with only 17 of the 27 states in the Euro Zone.

"Britain continues to fascinate" - but France receives three times as many tourists! Spain and Italy outperform Britain, too. Tourists even spend more money with the boring Krauts ... So maybe Britain does not quite fascinate as much as the insular British mind thinks.

Except that the European Union is far more like America under the Articles of Confederation that initially followed the Revolution than it is like the United States that came into being later, following the Constitutional Convention. The Confederation didn't work out that well for us, either -- for a number of reasons which are actually rather similar to some of the problems that the EU has in its current incarnation.

Sir,
Victory and tragedy. Remember, or don’t forget Sir Francis Drake or Lord Nelson. The European Unions only works when the cash flows. In times of austerity things get difficult, they think with their stomach. Thinking over the Americans or the Europeans struggling one asks where the money has gone. And to whom? Who are the money lenders and where did they get their money. Such questions in a system based on money is legitimate, and many ask.